Stuart Brioza's Mushrooms in Pickle-Brine Butter

Author Notes:Unless you're approaching the proportions used for pickles (i.e. literally swimming in brine), it's just a contained burst of acid, salt, and mulled seasonings that together work background magic. Used in tablespoons, not pints, it doesn't announce itself, but somehow makes the butter and mushrooms speak louder and more clearly. Adapted slightly from Food & Wine and State Bird Provisions —Genius Recipes

In a very large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over moderately high heat, swirling, until the butter is golden, about 2 minutes. Add 1/3 of the shallots to the skillet and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add 1/3 of the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1/3 of the pickle brine and cook until absorbed, about 1 minute. Transfer the mushrooms to a serving bowl and keep warm.

Repeat the process 2 more times with the remaining butter, olive oil, mushrooms and pickle brine. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

I was so happy when I tried this. I had some beautiful oyster mushrooms from the farmer's market. I used only butter and cooked until the mushrooms began to develop a nice crust. The pickle brine was a phenomenal addition - just enough acid to perk them up. I served the mushrooms over Parmesan polenta with a thick Porcini gravy.

I've been thinking about these lovely mushrooms since you published the recipe and finally got to make a "dinner for two" version of it tonight... They were an incredible side for our grilled pepper crusted steaks! So simple and so, so good. Thanks!

I just made this & it is really good! I used 1/3 the amount of butter & olive oil. Also added garlic, pepper, & herbes de Provence because I al use these with mushrooms. I only used 2 tablespoons of he pickle brine per batch. BUT on the last batch, I used 2 tablespoons of olive brine instead. OMGness! That took it to another level!!! It was stronger & tasted more savory but when I mixed all 3 batches together, I was literally eating it out of the bowl just like that! It tastes DIVINE! I'm getting ready to put this mixture on some flatbread with some mozzarella & nobody can't tell me nothin'! Trust & believe.

A comment on one of the ingredient amounts: I cannot imagine how 3 sliced shallots could possibly equal 1.5 cups - those would be some incredibly large shallots! Did you mean 3 sliced shallots = 1/2 cup??

Shallots vary in size (and you will probably need to use whole shallots, as opposed to lobes of a shallot), but yes, this is correct! When sliced as opposed to minced, they take up more volume in the cup. And if you have more or less, the recipe will still be good.